Game Preview: Preds vs Hurricanes

December 2, 2014

At times, it wasn’t the prettiest home stand, but the Nashville Predators were able to go 4-0-0 and continue to have the best record in the NHL at home. With wins over the Panthers, Kings, Oilers, and Blue Jackets, the Preds showed a will to win at Bridgestone Arena.

On Saturday night, the Predators were able to get goals from Mike Ribeiro (12:47 2nd) and a late goal by Colin Wilson at 17:48 of the 3rd period against the Blue Jackets to take a 2-1 win. Tonight, the Preds travel to PNC Arena to take on the Carolina Hurricanes in Raleigh, North Carolina.

In their last outing, the Hurricanes lost to the Pittsburgh Penguins 3-2. Carolina was able start off the game with a goal by Justin Faulk at 3:39 of the 1st period (PPG). With the dangerous Penguins offense, they scored 17 seconds later, and again at 5:32 of the 1st and never looked back.

Carolina has struggled as of recent games. The Hurricanes have 1 win since November 13th. The one win was a 6-4 win over the Dallas Stars on November 18th. There is a 3-way tie for the team in points with 15 (Eric Staal, Riley Nash, Justin Faulk). Jiri Tlusty leads the team in goals with 10. With a record of 7-13-3 (17 points), the Hurricanes are desperate for a win over the Preds tonight.

Keys to watch

Roman Josi—-Silent, but deadly

There are certain players that fans constantly see in the media, and then there are players like Roman Josi. You never hear out of him, and he consistently puts up points and produces in the defensive end. In 23 games this season, Josi has 3 goals and 9 assists for a total of 12 points. With a plus/minus of +10 and getting lots of time on ice, Roman Josi is a silent, but deadly player for the Preds.

Golden November

After another round of awards released for the month of November, the Preds were recognized once again. Filip Forsberg was named Rookie of the Month and Pekka Rinne was named the 3rd star of the month. As of December 1st, Scott Burnside of ESPN released his Power Rankings and the Preds are ranked #1 , an increase of +5 since their last ranking was released. It definitely was a “Golden November” in the NHL.

Struggles last season against Carolina

The Nashville Predators faced the Carolina Hurricanes two times last season and lost both. December 5th,2013, the Preds lost to the Hurricanes 5-2, where Jeff Skinner got his 1st career hat trick and on January 5th, 2014, the Preds lost again to the Hurricanes in a 2-1 slugfest. Look for the Preds to right the ship in Raleigh.

PNC Arena will be the location of tonight’s big match up. The game will be on FS-TN or you may listen live on 102.5 The Game. Follow all of Penalty Box Radio’s coverage of tonight’s Preds vs Hurricanes game via Twitter and Facebook. Puck drops at 6:00 pm!

Brandon was born and raised in Lebanon, Tennessee but eventually moved to McMinnville, Tennessee after marrying his wife, Lindsey. He is a graduate of Cumberland University (GO BULLDOGS) with a Master of Arts in Education. Growing up in Middle Tennessee, hockey was not an interest early in life. He is a hockey convert. His introduction to hockey was through free tickets from his grandmother for a game between the Predators and the Dallas Stars. After this initial introduction, it has truly been an obsession. Along with his wife and son, Brandon goes to as many games as he can. From statistics to player interactions, he has become the ultimate hockey fan. He is a proud father, teacher, history nerd, music-lover, and true sports fanatic!